Hawaii lawmaker renews fight to end or revise controversial sex ed program

BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - HONOLULU — State Rep. Bob McDermott, who enrolled his eight children in Hawaii’s public schools, doesn’t want his 11-year-old son exposed to a controversial taxpayer-funded sex education program.

That program is taught in 12 public schools across the state, and the Hawaii Department of Education is planning to expand the curriculum to others.

That’s spurred McDermott to renew his fight to get the program revised or pulled altogether. He’s releasing a 21-page report Monday entitled “The Pono Choices Curriculum: Sexualizing the Innocent” detailing his concerns. He also plans to make a plea to the Hawaii Board of Education at its Tuesday meeting, and hold a legislative briefing Wednesday evening for parents.

The 10-hour program, called Pono Choices (pono is a Hawaiian word that translates to “the right way”), is designed for youth aged 11 to 13. It has been taught to 1,700 Hawaii middle school children through an $800,000 pilot program.

McDermott said the program is “medically inaccurate” and not biology based, and that it teaches children about topics such as anal sex, sex with multiple partners and how to put on a condom — using a cucumber or wooden replica of a penis.

“The program normalizes a homosexual lifestyle and anal sex, while failing to warn students of the extreme dangers of anal sex; it references multiple sex partners, while failing to inform students about the health benefits of monogamy; it fails to warn students about the ineffectiveness of condoms against HPV, herpes, and anal sex; and fails to educate students on the stages of human reproduction,” McDermott said, providing Hawaii Reporter with an early copy of his report.

“Any talk of anal sex — which the curriculum does frequently — is instinctively repulsive for pre-pubescent children. Additionally, calling the anus a genital — as Pono Choices does — is just plain medically wrong,” McDermott said.

Among his other arguments: the curriculum’s definition of oral sex isn’t consistent with the definition commonly found in medical literature, data on condom use and effectiveness is inaccurate with regard to HPV, herpes, and HIV and the curriculum ignores the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s warning regarding the risks of condom use when engaging in anal sex.

NOT THE THREE R’S: McDermott holds up a copy of notes from an 11-year-old student enrolled in the sex education classes in the state’s public schools.

The DOEmaintains the program is medically accurate, and points out parents can opt their children out of the program.

Parents are invited to a Pono Choices Parent Night through a letter that’s sent home with their child informing them their child will study teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection prevention as part of health education, the DOE in a statement in mid-December. They also learn how to use a condom as part of the program.

“For any curriculum or lesson that addresses reproductive health, parents have the option of requesting that their child not receive the instruction,” the DOE statement said.

However, McDermott said what parents are told — and students are taught — are very different.

“The parental opt-out forms are woefully inadequate. They lack clarity and transparency by concealing some controversial aspects of the material,” McDermott said.

In November, McDermott requested a copy of the curriculum, which was developed by the University of Hawaii. The DOE and university denied his request for several weeks.

McDermott saidDOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz told him in an email that the course material wouldn’t be made public, but offered to have the lead researcher “address any questions.”

That researcher, Kelly Robert, told McDermott in a follow-up email: “We are not releasing the curriculum or associated materials to anyone who has not gone through the Pono Choices training.”

WHY ARE YOU SMILING? McDermott said happy faces are used to represent STIs partners can get from one another in the curriculum.

Once he obtained a copy and reviewed it with his staff attorney and others, McDermott felt the curriculum fails to inform children of the exponentially increased risks of male on male anal sex.

“Such omission renders the entire document questionable at best and agenda-driven social engineering at worst,” McDermott said.

The program is also contrary to state law and policies regarding abstinence-based sexual education, McDermott said.

“The curriculum treats sexual activity before the age of 14 as a viable choice, despite the state sexual assault law, which puts the age of consent at 16,” McDermott said.

The DOE maintained in a statement that abstinence is taught, but McDermott said “it is not the central message of the curriculum,” which he said gives a mixed message.

The DOE pulled the program in late November 2013 to review it after parents and some legislators complained, but reinstated the program after two weeks and announced its expansion to other schools.

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Malia Zimmerman is the editor and co-founder of Hawaii Reporter. She has worked as a consultant and contributor to several dozen media outlets including ABC 20/20, FOX News, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, UPI and the Washington Times. Malia has been listed as one of the nation’s top "Web Proficients, Virtuosi, and Masters" and "Hawaii's new media thought leader" by http://www.thewebstersdictionary.com Reach her at Malia@hawaiireporter.com

[...] DAYS OF LOT – Hawaii schools teaching anal sex to 11-year-olds, Warns Lawmker WARNING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED - HONOLULU — State Rep. Bob McDermott, who enrolled his eight children in Hawaii’s public schools, doesn’t want his 11-year-old son exposed to a controversial taxpayer-funded sex education program. That program is taught in 12 public schools across the state, and the Hawaii Department of Education is planning to expand the curriculum to others. That’s spurred McDermott to renew his fight to get the program revised or pulled altogether. He’s releasing a 21-page report Monday entitled “The Pono Choices Curriculum: Sexualizing the Innocent” detailing his concerns. He also plans to make a plea to the Hawaii Board of Education at its Tuesday meeting, and hold a legislative briefing Wednesday evening for parents. The 10-hour program, called Pono Choices (pono is a Hawaiian word that translates to “the right way”), is designed for youth aged 11 to 13. It has been taught to 1,700 Hawaii middle school children through an $800,000 pilot program. More [...]

[...] (Malia Zimmerman) State Rep. Bob McDermott, who enrolled his eight children in Hawaii’s public schools, doesn’t want his 11-year-old son exposed to a controversial taxpayer-funded sex education program. [...]

[...] From the Hawaii Reporter. State Rep. Bob McDermott, who enrolled his eight children in Hawaii’s public schools, doesn’t want his 11-year-old son exposed to a controversial taxpayer-funded sex education program. [...]

I have been a retired teacher for 20 years. The schools leaned left then, and have continued to move farther in that direction, since. I was not an underachiever, and have been a conservative "Reganite" my entire life. I have seen several generations of far left educators in action. I considered myself an excellent teacher and did my best to impart the values of hard work and the fundamentals of patriotism in my classroom. The students were respectful, with few exceptions. Now we have liberal progressives that are fully entrenched in the classrooms of America. I am appalled at what has happened to our country. God Bless America...........and God help us.........Grace

Does anyone else consider a discussion of intimate sex acts by an unrelated adult with a minor child outside the supervision of the child's parents Pedophilia? Because that is what Pedophiles do ... find ways to engage unprotected children in a discussion of sex the child in not yet old enough to comprehend.

If the self-appointed owners of all children "feel" children need more coaching on anal, oral, vaginal and other forms of sex, isn't the proper, moral and ethical way to accomplish that providing adult education classes for PARENTS who are sufficiently mature and experienced to avoid being "Molded" in the image of their "Teacher's".

Teachers who are often young immature graduates filled with a certain knowledge that they know everything there is to know about everything, but all too often know too little the serious subjects they are supposed to teach – Reading, 'Riting, and Reasoning . No. It is not 'Rithmatic. Math is just the way America has traditionally taught its children knowledge or, and respect for, formal logic (A gift from the "Age of Reason" that underlies our Justice system), because it does not permit "Teachers" to use it as a substitute for political indoctrination.

George L. Berish

PS: If anyone else believes it's time to take the offensive on issues like this one
-- by replacing those who now sit on the other side of the "High Hearing Table"
-- instead of sitting at their feet pleading a defense of America's founding principles
Please join us in that goal. http://America-3.orgtapp@America-3.org The American Political Party.

[...] Planned Parenthood-promoted Pono Choices sex program aimed at middle school children in Hawaii, pointed out as early as February 3 that the FDA has warned about the dangers of using condoms for anal sex and [...]

I think vouchers are a better idea. You still get choice...but it allows for improving public education instead of eliminating it. If schools are forced to compete, they will drop all of this nonsense and focus on teaching REAL skills to our kids...or go out of business.

mordo you are a moron, posting stupid messages unrelated to this pono choices.
BTW, KITV FINALLY reporting Bob's efforts as; "Hawaii lawmaker fights against sex ed program
DOE asked public to weigh in on Pono Choices by end of Feb."